Turin53
Member
How do you tell the real birth weight? I've heard of a weight tape(?) but don't know what it is. We don't have any scales close by and my cows are not used to getting put in trailers. Any ideas for me? 
Birth Weight--How do you know?
- Thread starter Turin53
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Turin53":5ixy2zoz said:How do you tell the real birth weight? I've heard of a weight tape(?) but don't know what it is. We don't have any scales close by and my cows are not used to getting put in trailers. Any ideas for me?
The weigh tape goes around the calf's hoof. I don't think either of those are very accurate. We tried the hoof tape once and weighed the calf with scales. We found a lot of difference so we went back to the scales. We hook a belt around the calf, hook a hand scale into that and lift the little critter up.
Turin53
Member
Thanks, Frankie. I guess I'll have to estimate the weights, my longhorn just doesn't want me getting too close to the little one. About 5 acres away is about as close as she will let me get. But thank you, i had no idea what a weight tape was or how to go about getting the weight from it.
Bez+
Well-known member
Turin53":1zdeqy5a said:How do you tell the real birth weight? I've heard of a weight tape(?) but don't know what it is. We don't have any scales close by and my cows are not used to getting put in trailers. Any ideas for me?
Yup - go buy a scale that you can sling the calf in - cost about 120 bucks when we bought ours - calf in sling - I pick the whiole shebang up and read what the scale says. If it is real heavy I huff and I puff and my wife reads the scales!!
Bez+
Red Bull Breeder
Well-known member
I got a hay bed on my truck hang scales on hay bed arms wife picks up calf i read scales.
Jogeephus
Well-known member
You could buy a cheap set of human scales and just pick up the calf and stand on it then subtract your weight. Due to the strong motherly instinct in my cows, my calves only come in three sizes - small, average and big.
In our younger days we picked them up and stood ona bathroom scale, then we went ot the hoof tape deal. I found it interesting that every calf born that weighed with the tape weighed 87 pounds. Now we run them through the scale in the alleyway or for some we don;t really care all that mcuh about keeping details on we just eyeball them. They'll all be weighed at spring workup and they'll be from a couple of days to maybe 6 weeks old at that time.
Turin53":3sd5wrge said:How do you tell the real birth weight? I've heard of a weight tape(?) but don't know what it is. We don't have any scales close by and my cows are not used to getting put in trailers. Any ideas for me?
My buddy down the road who has a registered herd went to the weight tape, plus using scales a few years back for two years out of curiousity. He recorded both measurements and had our breed association do an analysis of the numbers.
When the smoke cleared, the weight tape did just as good a job as the scales did for identifying outliers within the contemporary groups of calves, which is the main function of recording birthweights to start with.
The only problems with the tapes is when several different people place the weight tapes in different areas on the hoof and read the tape differently.
Scales can be just as inaccurate as weight tapes if they aren't calibrated periodically, and can sometimes be off 10-15 lbs., but will still detect those outliers.
TREY-L
Well-known member
I have one like this that I adapted to fit into the receiver hitch on my Polaris Ranger, I have been pleased with it so far.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... b0d0204ae5
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... b0d0204ae5
Turin53":3rdok139 said:How do you tell the real birth weight? I've heard of a weight tape(?) but don't know what it is. We don't have any scales close by and my cows are not used to getting put in trailers. Any ideas for me?
Check with your local feed stores - they should be able to put you in touch with the manufacturer of a portable, sling type scale. You could also make a sling for the calves, and use a feed type scale to weigh them.
DiamondSCattleCo
Well-known member
I've used both over the years, and found the tapes to be reasonably accurate as long as you watch what you're doing. They're not perfect, but on 100 lbs, I've found tapes to be within +- 5 lbs, which is plenty good enough for a commercial producer.
Rod
Rod
CKC1586
Well-known member
Ya know dun, this makes me wonder about somethin that I have wondered about every time I read anything about EPDs. Do those folks that run huge registered herds on big outfits really go out there and weigh those calves????? Just how accurate are those birth weights being reported?????dun":2m87nknm said:
I can only speak for a couple of large RA ssedstock producers, but they check several times a day and weight and tag each calf as it's found. I'm sure there are others that just eyeball them and probably some just record a number in a ballpark range. The weights are only as honest as the producer is.CKC1586":15vu9dho said:
If you drop a hayring around the calf you can weigh, tag, vaccinate the calf w/o momma doing anything but bellering.
I use the "stand on the bathroom scale" method, but have to do it in a hay ring to keep momma at bay.
I use the "stand on the bathroom scale" method, but have to do it in a hay ring to keep momma at bay.
smallrancher
Well-known member
Allright, I did the bathroom scale thing today, grabbed the calf and stood on the scale. I had a 305 lb calf! I had no clue they were that big!
DOC HARRIS
Well-known member
CKC1586-Just like everything else in this world, it depends on the honesty and integrity of the individuals involved, but it has been my experience that the more legitimate the producer is with his BU$INE$$ activities, the more honest he is with ALL of his policies. Most large registered breeders that I know DO weigh the calves as early and accurately as they can. And most of them don't use the "tape"around the foot" method because there is too much chance for inaccuracies.CKC1586":3vsp7qxs said:
I noticed an advertisment in one of the many magazines about a scale that attaches to a pickup bed and is a long bar with one end of the bar attached to the truck, and the calf hanging in a harness in the center, and the human raising the calf up by holding on to the opposite end of the bar. It becomes a "Second Class Lever" mechanism, and the read-out is a dial scale such as one on a bathroom scale. Reasonably accurate.
DOC HARRIS
